NASHVILLE, Tenn. – On Sunday, the Rangers signed a catcher. On Monday, they lost one.

Catcher Mike Napoli, according to multiple reports out of Boston, has agreed to a three-year deal with the Red Sox worth $39.5 million. The Rangers and Seattle had also considered Napoli, but the Rangers were unwilling to go to a three-year deal. Napoli receives an annual salary of approximately $13.17 million, which is just under the $13.3 million one-year offer the Rangers would have had to extend him to insure receiving a draft pick as compensation.

Napoli, who turned 31 in October, hit .227/.343/.469 with 24 homers in 108 games with the Rangers last year, a considerable decline from the career year he had during his Ranger debut in 2011. Napoli hit .320/.414/.631 with 30 homers then, all career highs.

Dallas Morning News columnist Tim Cowlishaw said of Napoli: "I think the Mike Napoli call is as tough as any for this team. He’s a lot more than a fan favorite and, yes, I realize we’re talking about a strikeout machine who batted .227 this season. The Rangers are likely to have a low-.200s hitter behind the plate. How about one with real power (54 HRs in only 721 ABs with Texas) who has a knack for Angel-killing moments?"

The Rangers agreed to a one-year deal with Geovany Soto on Sunday night, a deal believed to be worth a little less than $3 million in guaranteed money. The deal is still pending Soto passing a physical.

Soto, who turns 30 in January, started 41 games for the Rangers after being acquired from the Chicago Cubs at the trading deadline and hit .196. He hit .199 for the season over 99 games.

Soto started 119 games in 2011, the second most of his career, but is considered more of a backup catcher. The Rangers now need to find a catcher capable of catching at least 80 games.

Unless the Rangers want to dive in and make a big play for Joe Mauer, the only likely free agent with solid offensive numbers is Chicago’s A.J. Pierzynski. He will be 36 in December.And the Rangers must decide how much they value offense vs. defense here. Despite the catching unit’s composite .225 batting average, the Rangers ranked in the upper half of MLB in catching OPS (14th). But they also ranked 13th of 14 teams in the AL in caught-stealing percentage. Over their last six regular-season games plus the wild-card game, the Rangers did not catch any of the five runners who tried to steal.The other catchers currently on the 40-man roster are Luis Martinez and Konrad Schmidt.

To post a comment, log into your chosen social network and then add your comment below. Your comments are subject to our Terms of Service and the privacy policy and terms of service of your social network. If you do not want to comment with a social network, please consider writing a letter to the editor.